The Aftermath of Jean Grey Summers' Death
by Carragh
Summary: Picking up after X-Treme X-Men 46, what happened between Rachel, Scott and Emma immediately following Jean Grey-Summers' death.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: All characters are property of Marvel Comics. No copyright infringement intended.

(Background information: In the final arc of X-Treme X-Men, Rachel Summers has been freed from the Elias Bogan, a Hellfire Club ally, who has been using her to attack the X-Men. Rachel had last been seen in Cable, where she had dropped out of life as a superhero to go to college. When Cable distrupted his future, Rachel was thrown into the timestream and ended up at the End of Time, a prison for a tyrant named Gaunt. After escaping with the help of her brother, Cable, she returned to the present day and found that everything in her life had changed. Excalibur had disbanded and Kitty had left the X-Men, Scott was dead, and she had lived another life she barely remembered, where she had created one of the X-Men's greatest foes, Stryfe. Unable to cope with all this information, Rachel went off to college, trying to live a normal life, but was soon captured by Bogan. )

___________________________________________________________

In Valle Soleada, Storm's team of X-Men's leisure time came to an abrupt end following a news report about the death and destruction caused by Magneto(Xorn)'s attack on New York City. Skyscrapers were twisted into Magneto's vision of utopia. Millions of human citizens were homeless. And Jean Grey-Summers was dead.

Those gathered at Rogue's home began to mobilize, soon joined by their neighbors who had seen the news reports and wanted to join the relief efforts. The mood of shock, horror and disbelieve in the room was beginning to disappear as everyone got to their feet and got to work. Doing something - anything- felt better than helplessly sitting and watching the devastation unfold on television.

But the moment of relief quickly dissipated. The hurried chatter and planning was immediately silenced by Ororo calling out one name, "Rachel!"

They all turned to see Rachel and Kitty, shopping bags in hand, silhouetted in the doorway. Rachel's attention was focused on the television, where a reporter was discussing airport delays on the East Coast with footage of the devastation playing in an upper corner of the screen.

"What happened?" Kitty questioned, looking from all the stunned faces to the television.

Amara, the closest to them, tried to answer, but then turned to Ororo silently pleading for help. "Go into the kitchen, I'll explain," Ororo said, putting an arm around both of them as they passed by her, and following them into the kitchen.

Sam had tried to change the channel, but as he clicked through the stations trying to find one not showing the events in New York , a reporter saying "death of an X-Man" echoed through the house.

Rachel looked back at the television, getting a glimpse of the footage of Scott clutching Jean's body, tears streaming down his face, before Sam could quickly click away.

Ororo guided Rachel and Kitty into the kitchen. Sitting down at the table, she began to explain to them everything that they knew so far - what Magneto had done. Jean's death. Saying it aloud made it all that more real, and the pain of it all felt like a crushing blow to her heart. But, she stayed strong and kept the emotion out of her voice, knowing there was work to be done, and that she needed to be there for the others.

But Rachel's reaction surprised her. There were a few tears. A bit of crying. But Rachel didn't fall apart the way everyone expected when they saw her in the doorway.

Collecting herself, Rachel simply said to Ororo, "Nathan told me Scott was dead. When I got back from the end of time - everyone thought Scott was dead. But he wasn't. Jean isn't-"

Ororo interrupted, trying to be as sympathetic as possible, "That was a different situation. We saw what happened to Jean. We have to accept -"

"No," Rachel said, standing up. "She's not gone. She can't be."

Ororo extended her arm, trying to put a comforting hand on Rachel's shoulder. But Rachel brushed past her, heading to her room, then stopped and asked the room at large, "When are we leaving for New York ?"

Kitty entered the room she was sharing with Rachel, and found Rachel rummaging through the closet.

Rachel asked her, "You seen Rogue? I wonder if she has a uniform I could borrow?"

"Ray…" Kitty began to say, trying to figure out the right words to convince her friend of the truth.

"And I gotta check with Sam if he's found a phone number for Nathan yet." She started out in to the hallway, avoiding Kitty's gaze.

"Listen…" Kitty tried to continue, still searching for something to say.

"No, you listen," Rachel snapped back. "Nathan said no one believed that Scott was alive. Everyone else had given up on him. Written him off as dead. But Nathan and Jean kept up hope and they found him."

Kitty shook her head, and said gently, "There's a body, Ray. This isn't a mystical death. There **is** a body. There's nothing to find."

Rachel started down the hallway again. "She's the Phoenix. She'll always rise again."

___________________________________________________________

The relief effort was beginning to get underway when Rachel and Kitty joined them outside Rogue's home, in uniform and ready to go to New York. 'Berto was in his element, coordinating groups and supplies that Lila Cheney was teleporting to New York City.

Seeing Kitty and Rachel approaching the next group being gathered for teleportation, Ororo pulled them aside. "I'd like both of you to go to Westchester and help at the Institute."

Rachel began to argue, thinking that her telekinesis would be of a bigger help in Manhattan repairing building than in the burned out wreckage of the mansion. But Ororo wanted both of them out of the bedlam happening in New York. Both had been out of action for far too long and had already seen enough.

Besides, the other X-Men had not been told that Rachel was alive and Ororo wanted to keep it quiet for a bit longer.

Kitty and Rachel, along with Remy, Sam and Bishop headed to the Xavier Institute to help get things running there again. Kitty was assigned to get the power generators well below ground restored, and Rachel went along with her. At least, that kept Rachel out of sight. Although, the mansion was pretty much deserted.

A few hours later, Kitty returned to the sub-basement power station room where she and Rachel had been working, carrying two sandwiches. "Remy and Lucas fixed the kitchen," Kitty told her, handing a plate with a sandwich over to Rachel.

Hesitantly, Kitty added, "And Remy said Jean's body is being transported to Salem Center for burial. They think she'll be laid to rest here, not in Annandale-on-Hudson."

Rachel just nodded and kept eating her sandwich.

Kitty didn't want to force the issue, so she changed the subject. "Scott's going to be here tonight," Kitty continued. "Do you want to see him?"

"Yeah," Rachel replied softly.

"He's not going to be mad at you - for what you did as Bogan's puppet," Kitty told her. "That wasn't your fault."

Rachel shook her head. "It doesn't feel like it."

"Ray…"

But Rachel kept arguing. "I was the one who was stupid enough to be out in the open, at college, not using my powers. I was a sitting duck for someone like Bogan."

"C'mon," Kitty replied, "I quit too. I left the X-Men and went to college. I get it. Sometimes you need to get away from all of his, and find yourself…. You can't be an X-Man all the time. Some times you want to be normal… like everyone else."

"But we aren't like everyone else, Kitty," Rachel sighed. "We can't pretend we can live normal lives. Look at what Bogan made me do because I was selfish and thought I could go off and be 'normal'".

"We all deserve time off," Kitty tried to tell her.

Shaking her head, Rachel sighed, "We don't have time." She paused, continuing to eat her sandwich, then said, finally getting something off her chest that had been bothering her all day, "I didn't want Jean to know I was back because she was so upset about Scott's death. I didn't want to burden her with something else so soon… But if I had told her, if I had come back… Maybe things would have been different."

"You don't know that," Kitty replied.

Tears began to build in Rachel's eyes. "But at least I would have had some time with Jean before she…" Rachel's voice trailed off. She couldn't say the word.

Kitty hugged her and said, "I'm still pissed at Cable for not telling anyone you were missing."

___________________________________________________________

Later that evening, Scott returned with a handful of his team - Hank, .Logan, Emma and the Stepford Cuckoos, to what was left of the complex under the Xavier Institute. They found Ororo and some of her team - Remy, Rogue, Dani and Sam - gathered in a makeshift living room with a few chairs and a television.

Scott and his team looked the worse for wear, tired and exhausted and in desperate need of showers.

Those from California gave Scott their condolences. Embraced him. Tried to extend some sort of comfort. But he was beyond their help. He seemed completely numb inside. Nearly frozen. It was as if when the life left Jean, it left him as well.

Kitty came into the room, asking, "Sam, do you know where an arc welder is?" She stopped, seeing Scott and the others had finally gotten back.

"I didn't expect to see you here," Scott told her.

Kitty hugged him. "I'm so sorry. If there's anything I can do…"

"You back for good, kid?" Logan asked from across the room.

"No," Kitty replied, with a sideward glance to Ororo. "Just after everything that happened, I thought I was needed here." Kitty sat down on a folding chair next to Ororo, uncertain if she should remain.

No one knew what to say. There were a few failed attempts to start conversations - to get everyone's minds off of what was happening - which didn't work until Hank turned to the usual topic - X-Business.

Hank said to Ororo, "Sage told me that you had figured out who the telepath Elias Bogan was using to attack us?"

All eyes turned to Ororo. Speculation had been that the telepath was Psylocke - that she was somehow alive or Bogan had resurrected her. So who the telepath was that had such an intimate knowledge of the X-Men was of the utmost interest.

"Yes," Ororo responded calmly. "Bogan has been stopped and the telepath freed."

"The telepath?" Hank prompted.

Ororo replied, "We can discuss that matter at a better time."

Kitty glanced over to Ororo, then back over to Scott. While Ororo might have wanted to avoid Scott meeting Rachel while Rachel was still in denial over Jean's death, Kitty would have preferred to get the reunion out of the way. Rachel always had waited for a better time when dealing with Jean and Scott - and never was able to find it. They might as well have gotten it over with.

The topic of conversation changed to Jean's funeral. Ororo offered to help with the planning, and to meet with Jean's parents, who had taken the news of Jean's death badly. John Grey had hung up the phone on Scott, and Elaine Grey had later told them that they didn't want to talk to him. Scott stayed silent, sitting off to the side, seeming to barely be aware of what was happening around him.

Dani started gathering the list of those that needed to be informed of the funeral arrangements, and Kitty had her opportunity to ask about Nathan for Rachel.

"What about Cable? Anyone called him? Does he even know?"

"Cable dropped off the map a while ago," Hank replied.

"Ah called Irene Merryweather," Sam added, "She thinks he's okay, but doesn't know how to contact him."

"What the heck is he doing that's so important?" Kitty asked, venting her frustration.

"That's just Cable for ya," Rogue replied, trying to cover the awkwardness of Kitty's concern about Nathan.

Hank continued on with the previous discussion, asking out loud if the students should be invited to the funeral, or if they wanted to keep it small and just the X-Men and close family.

Out of nowhere, Scott questioned, "Where is she, Kitty?"

"What?"

"Is she okay?" When no one responded and Kitty just sat there with a shocked look on her face, he continued, "Jean thought she felt Rachel was back. She said Nathan was hiding something."

"I'll go get her."

Returning to the dank sub-basement where Rachel was still working on getting the main generator online, Kitty tentatively entered and called, "Rachel? Everyone's upstairs. Maybe you should-"

"Did you find the arc welder?"

Kitty sighed, "C'mon, Scott knows you're here. No arguments - just come, alright?" Rachel merely nodded, and Kitty took her arm and phased her upstairs.

Kitty walked back into the makeshift living room practically unnoticed since, in her short absence, more of the X-Men had returned- including Bobby, Warren, Alex, and Lorna. The room was now crowded and noisy, with several loud disagreements underway about Magneto and Xorn and Bobby trying to shout above the din about ordering pizza.

Rachel hesitantly stood in the hallway looking into the room, not sure what to do in all the commotion. She was barely recognizable from her former self, extremely thin and nearly emaciated with her red hair shaved almost completely to her scalp. But Scott immediately spotted her, and quietly made his way over to the doorway.

"Hey," he said softly, seeing the apprehension on her face. "You okay?"

She nodded faintly, but words failed her. It was almost unbelievable for her seeing Scott alive. Through the haze during her imprisonment by Bogan she had seen him, but that had seemed like a dream. But now with Jean gone, any joy was replaced with emptiness and grief. There was nothing she could say that could express the hurt and pain.

"Yeah... I know," Scott replied, wrapping his arm around her. He might not have had telepathic abilities, but there was an understanding between them. "It's good to have you back."

Scott and Rachel walked into the living room. While arguments continued across the room about Magneto and Xorn, there was a quiet muttering of those who had been part of Rachel's rescue from Bogan filling in the others as to what had happened.

Rachel sat down next to Scott, immediately noticing Emma staring directly towards her.

"What's Emma Frost doing here?" she quietly questioned Scott.

"She's an X-Man," Scott told her, and wanting to avoid any hostilities, added, "She's reformed. She's one of us now."

Rachel wanted to argue, since Emma's glare seemed anything but friendly, but Logan came over to her, gave her a hug and asked how she was doing.

Over the next hour, everyone began to go their separate ways. Logan, Alex, Bobby and Remy went out to find a bar that was still open. Others decided to turn in for the night, and headed for the makeshift sleeping quarters, including Rachel who was still weak from her months of imprisonment.

Remaining in the living room were Scott, Emma, Hank and Ororo. Scott knew Emma had something on her mind, and as soon as Kitty and Rachel left to go to bed, Emma started on Rachel.

"Do we know if she is free from Bogan's control?" Emma questioned.

Ororo nodded. "Rachel has shown no signs of still being under Bogan's influence, and all signs indicate he is dead."

"Never underestimate Elias Bogan and his ability to survive," Emma replied. "And Rachel seems far too susceptible to mind control. That was one of the reasons the Hellfire Club has targeted her so often. Based on what Rogue told me - now she has been captured and used against her will twice in the course of a year. The girl is dangerous, and her reappearance at this time seems suspicious."

"Is that true, Ororo?" Hank questioned. "A mutant with Rachel's abilities and an impaired mental state…?"

She shook her head. "You can evaluate Rachel yourself, but all signs indicate her captivity in the previous year was due to unforeseeable events, and perhaps some naivety on her part that she could go unnoticed by her enemies once she did return."

"I suppose we should look at what other consequences our actions have to the future," Hank added. "I never would have thought that when Cable defeated Apocalypse, that would have impacted Rachel thousands of years in the future."

"So, does that mean none of that happen?" Scott asked. "The nearly a hundred years she spent in the Askani future? The ten years Rachel spent with Jean, Nathan and me?"

Ororo replied, "With timelines and time travel, it is complicated. But she did say she has some memories of her time in the future, but of what I do not know."

Scott was lost in thought, and muttered, "We were a family… Rachel brought us together… Without what she did there - then - Nathan would have died."

Emma interrupted Scott's rambling, "Considering the damage Rachel was able to do while controlled by Bogan, she needs to be-"

"No." Scott stated.

"You're not thinking this through rationally," Emma argued.

Scott shook his head. "This is her second chance. After everything she's been through, she's earned this."

"Rachel should not be trusted," Emma continue to argue, raising her voice to a level that could be heard from the adjacent temporary sleeping quarters.

Scott turned away, ignoring her, and saying to the others, "It's late." The others agreed, and Ororo and Hank stood, and walked out into the hallway to go to bed.

Rachel unable to sleep and hearing her name, arose from bed and cracked open the door so she could peer into the living room across the hallway where Scott and Emma remained.

She watched as Emma approached Scott, placed her hands on his chest, and leaned in to say something softly to him that Rachel couldn't hear.

"I know you mean well," Scott replied.

Emma slowly caressed his face with a long finger. "Jean's death, now this. There is only so much one can handle, my dear."

Rachel quickly ducked into the room as Scott and Emma came out into the hallway together. She slowly collapsed onto the floor as what she saw between them began to sink in.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Scott began to awake the following morning, looking up at the ceiling through his visor, and in his grogginess, thought the sun was brightly shining through the window. He wondered why Jean hadn't badgered him to wake up, since it had to be well past dawn. School must have started.

Then, as the haze of sleep started to lift, he realized that it wasn't a sunlit window above him, but a fluorescent light that was dangling precariously by two wires.

The room came into focus, and he realized he was in one of the dormitory rooms in the underground complex under what used to be the Xavier Institute, laying on a metal cot. As he looked up at the partially collapsed ceiling, with wiring, ventilation ducts and insulation hanging into the room, the reality of everything that had been lost swept over him like a tidal wave, enveloping him in grief, despair and regret.

Everything was gone. His wife, his home, his school. And getting out of bed, much less trying to pick up the pieces of his life, seemed an unimaginable feat.

His mind started drifting to a time he spent with Jean in the Askani future, in a place much like this. They might have been in different bodies, but it was them and Nathan, as a family. He recalled, as vividly as if it was yesterday, a morning when Nathan was five where he and Jean had sat watching the sun rise outside the dilapidated remnants of a building they were staying. They had nothing, but each other, and the mission to take care of their son. And Scott would have given anything to be back there at that moment.

The dangling light began to flicker then went out. In the darkness, Scott heard voices shouting in the hallway. The door opened, and Warren yelled, "Yeah, the power's out in here too. Hey Rachel, turn that fuse back on!"

Scott pulled the blanket over his head, wanting to escape from the world (or, at least the latest damage estimate), and continue to remember happier times with Jean.

But interrupting his contented reminiscences was another memory from his time with the Askani - Jean standing up to her knees in blood in the Askani Cloisters, holding Rachel's comatose body, crying and pleading for her not to die.

Scott tried to drive it out of his mind, and go back to daydreaming about happy memories with Jean. But flashes of his failures as a husband kept interfering: the broken promises and vows, things he wished he had done and said, but now might never be able to do.

Then his words to Rachel in the Askani future echoed through his head - words he didn't know if she did or didn't remember. "Thank you…. For bringing us together as a family… and I'm sorry - sorry I never treated you like a daughter when I had the chance. I just wanted you to now how very proud I am to have been your father. In case I never made it clear to you before, I love you."

He took a deep breath, as the realization of what he needed to do came to him. He needed to somehow gather the strength to carry on, the kind of strength that Jean had had, and that they had been able to pass on to Rachel.

He had failed enough people in his life - Jean, Madelyne, Nathan. It was time that that ended.

And this was his chance to make things right with Rachel - to repay her for everything she did for him: saving his son's life and giving him a chance to raise Nathan with Jean.

Rachel had sacrificed her life for her brother. Despite how badly Jean and Scott had treated her in the past and how Nathan was really her "alternate reality half brother" none of that had matter in the end. They were family and Rachel was willing to do anything for them.

Scott had to figure out how to return the favor.

_______________________________________________________

Down the hallway, Kitty and Hank were scrunched into the electrical room around a fuse box, trying to figure out why the north wing was not getting power.

"We need an electrician," Kitty sighed, phasing out into the hallway where Rachel was waiting. "Who has experience with Shi'ar technology."

As Hank went off to dig more equipment out of his lab, Rachel uneasily looked around to make sure no one else was there. "Last night," she said quietly to Kitty, "I saw Scott and Emma…. Together. They looked… intimate."

"What?" Kitty questioned, jerking her head around and absolutely positive that she must have misheard Rachel.

"There's something going on with them," Rachel replied softly.

"Scott and Emma? Emma Frost?" Kitty looked at her absolutely dumbfounded. "There's no way, Ray. Whatever you saw, it must-"

"I know what I saw."

Tentatively, Rachel and Kitty entered Hank's lab, which hadn't been too badly damaged, but shelves, tables and desks had tipped over, and the floor was littered with broken electronics, glass and papers.

Hank was lifting up a heavy metal supply cabinet that had fallen over. Using her telekinesis, Rachel helped right the cabinet and push it up against the wall where it belonged.

"Much obliged," Hank replied, looking over his shoulder at the two girls. Opening the cabinet, he muttered, "Oh look at this mess. All the times the mansion has been attacked, you would think I would have everything better protected."

As he began to rummage through the cabinet, he continued, "I suppose you two aren't here to help clean up."

"Scott and Emma," Rachel said, then she paused. Did she really want to ask? And seeing the look on Hank's face, she wasn't sure she wanted the answer.

"Oh, that," Hank replied, stalling for time as he fumbled with a Shi'ar power converter.

"So there is something going on between them?" Kitty asked.

Hank shook his head. "That I'm not sure about. There was." Apprehensively, he looked at them. "I'm probably not the best person to be telling you this."

"We just want the truth."

Hank closed his eyes. "It's a difficult situation…. It's something Scott should explain, not me. But I will say that no marriage is without its problems. Scott and Jean… they were going through… some difficulties."

Kitty questioned, "Difficulties named Emma Frost?"

"Both of you have been away from here for some time. Things have changed. Emma, for instance. And Scott. Being possessed by En Sabah Nur affected him."

But Kitty wasn't about to give up the interrogation. "Was Scott cheating on Jean? Having an affair with Emma?"

Hank wasn't about to answer that. Back tracking he said, "That's between Scott and Emma. And Jean." Kitty started another retort, but Hank cut her off. "Scott loved Jean. Let's leave it at that."

In a soft voice, Rachel replied, "If he loved her so much, what was he doing with Emma hours after Jean died?"

_______________________________________________________

Scott entered the kitchen, and saw Warren was seated at the table, eating left over pizza. Warren hastily tried to hide that day's New York Times, sliding it under the table onto a chair. But still visible was a large picture of the carnage on the front cover with the word "HORROR" above it.

Scott poured himself a cup of coffee and asked, "Seen Rachel?"

"She and Kitty were still working on the power last I saw them." He paused. "Ororo was looking for you. I think she's in the War Room."

Scott took his coffee into the War Room, concerned that something else might have happened. But he saw Ororo seated at the large oval table looking at brochures from the funeral home.

She smiled at him, and he was glad she didn't try any small talk. He hadn't slept well. He didn't want anything to eat. And he didn't even know himself how he felt.

"The service will be Friday at 3pm," she began. "The minister at St. Stephen's in Annandale-on-Hudson is unwilling to visit the school after what happened, but Kurt spoke to a Methodist minister in Salem Center, and he is willing to come."

"That's fine," Scott replied. Ororo continued on about the plans for Jean's funeral - who was coming, what the schedule was, the flower arrangements and so forth. But Scott found himself paying little attention to what she was saying. He rationalized it - telling himself that Ororo would know far more about what Jean's favorite flowers were than he did. But he felt like it was continuing to let Jean down.

The intercom popped on, and Warren's said, "Ororo, John Grey's on line 1." Ororo excused herself, and stepped out of the room to take the call.

Scott put the brochures on a table behind him, then turned on the monitor and started searching for a tv signal.

A few minutes later, he heard someone walk in behind him. Afraid it was Ororo, he turned off the tv, but then realized it was Emma.

"Lovely," she said, thumbing through a pamphlet showing caskets. Putting it down, she asked him, "Have you given any more thought to what I told you last night?"

"Rachel is my daughter, Emma."

"Technically, she's not," Emma snarked back, but seeing the anger building in his face, she changed her tactic. "Elias Bogan or any of the X-Men's enemies know Rachel would be welcomed back with open arms to the X-Men. All of you are far too trusting. It would be too late before you knew you had a traitor in your midst."

"There's no evidence-" Scott began, but was immediately cut off by a laugh by Emma.

"Oh let me see, darling. Since abandoning Excalibur, Rachel has: created Cable and Stryfe - I can't say which was the bigger offense, returned without any word, and then repeatedly attacked all of us, supposedly under Bogan's influence."

Scott again tried to argue. "You're twisting it. Without Rachel, Nathan would have died."

"No, I merely don't have warm and fuzzy feelings about the woman who turned a poor child into someone like Cable, and carelessly cloned the creator of the Legacy Virus."

"She did what she had to - to stop Apocalypse. To save Nathan. But that's beside the point. This is Rachel's second chance. After everything she's been through-"

"I'd be afraid of what's she's going to do next," Emma interrupted.

Scott began to get up, frustrated and wanting to avoid the argument. Emma stood, took his hands, and guided him to sit down next to her on a bench seat.

"I know you love her," she told him. "Elias Bogan - I know him. He exploits his enemy's weaknesses. He has an endgame, and we played right into it. And he had access to one of the world's most powerful telepaths who already has proven to be incredibly dangerous. We have no idea what else he did to her."

Scott replied, "When the Professor is back, he'll be able to examine her, and tell if there's any trace of mind control."

"Let me," Emma said, a grin dawning on her face. "I will be able to recognize Bogan's markers, and be able to remove any telepathic control he still has over her."

"Thank you."

_______________________________________________________

Kitty had left Hank's lab on a mission to find someone - anyone - who could either confirm or deny their suspicions that Scott had been having an extra-marital affair with her former arch-nemesis. But Rachel slowly followed behind her, engrossed in her own thoughts.

The complex was nearly empty, since almost everyone was down in New York City helping the relief efforts, or else off some place more pleasant than the smoldering remains of the Xavier Institute.

Kitty and Rachel found themselves sitting under a tree in the grounds, their backs to the pile of wreckage of their former home.

"Do we talk to Scott? Confront him?" Kitty asked, some apprehension in her voice.

"No," Rachel sighed. She paused, then continued, "Maybe merging with Apocalypse did mess with Scott's head. It's not like I can't relate - all the times I've had someone in my head, messing with my thoughts, forcing me to…" Her voice drifted off.

"That's no excuse for cheating on his wife," Kitty replied.

"Maybe he made a mistake, and it's over. It was Emma that was all over him last night."

Thinking out loud, Kitty told her, "Scott's head's messed up by Poccy, and Emma exploits it? That sounds about right."

They were about to go back into the underground complex to see if Hank needed more help fixing the power - if he would still talk to them, when Sam and Dani called over and asked if Rachel would help lift some of the larger pieces of debris of the mansion.

A handful of the X-Men, mostly the former New Mutants, were scavenging through the remains, trying to find any personal artifacts that were left. A wall had collapsed down on a section of student dormitories, leaving nothing more than a pile of bricks, concrete, drywall and crushed furniture. Rachel telekinetically lifted the debris, and took it over to a large construction dumpster nearby.

"So, when are the construction crews going to start rebuilding?" Kitty asked, "I figured they'd already be pouring the new foundation by now."

Sam shrugged. "Scott's not sure about reopening the school."

"What?!?"

"I dunno. Ororo figures once all the shock has worn off, he'll be back to his old self. Then everything'll get back to normal. And with the Professor gone, it's hard to do a lot. It's up to Scott, I guess."

Dani replied, "Scott seems really off. After everything that's happened, you'd expect him to be grieving, but he's so distant…. Ororo or someone needs to step up. If we wait for Scott, the Institute will stay like this." She kicked a broken chair which was laying on its side in what used to be a student's dorm room.

Rachel and Kitty went off into the rubble, heading toward some wooden closet doors poking out from under debris from the floor above it.

"Why do I suspect what's going on with Scott has to do with a certain white queen?" Kitty muttered to Rachel.

Rachel, concentrating on telekinetically moving all of the debris, just nodded. She was still getting used to using her powers, on her own. She had spent so long imprisoned, then in college, then imprisoned again. And before that, everything came so easily due to the Phoenix Force boosting her natural telekinesis and telepathy.

Finally, she quietly told Kitty, "When my mom died, Scott - _my_ dad - was a wreck. He was kind of lost without her. And things were worse then then they are now, with the Registration Act and the Brotherhood terrorizing the world, setting off nuclear devices."

The two finally were able to reach underneath the debris and into what used to be a student's closet. They began piling into a cardboard box some dust covered clothes and shoes belonging to a teenage girl.

"And right after Mom died," Rachel continued, "my telepathy kicked in, and I had no control over any of it. So I knew exactly what he was thinking. And for an eleven year old, that was overwhelming - that much sadness and despair."

"Ray," Kitty said, reaching over to her.

Rachel swallowed, trying to get control of her emotions and hold back the tears. With a little bit of bluster, she stood up, and said, "Well, Jean better come back soon, so we get Scott back to normal."

Frustrated that this had to come up again at this moment, Kitty gently told her. "She might not, Rachel, she's gone. You've got to accept it."

"I have faith. That's all I need," Rachel replied.

Kitty closed her eyes, not sure if she really wanted to hit Rachel with reality, or let her continue to live in her daydream that Jean wasn't truly gone.

They were interrupted by Sam yelling that Ororo had called a meeting in the War Room.

_______________________________________________________

There were only a handful of X-Men still at the mansion - Ororo, Scott, Emma, and Hank, along with Rachel, Kitty, Sam, Dani, Rahne and Amara. None seemed all that thrilled at the prospect of a meeting.

A number of things were on the agenda - the schedule for Jean's memorial service and funeral, discussions about what was going on in New York and how they needed to handle mutant/human relations after several scuffles, and contacting the students to make sure everyone had gotten home safely.

Kitty and Rachel sat in one corner of the room, and on the other side was Scott, who remained quiet the entire time. Emma was pacing around the room, continuing to seethe after an argument with Ororo about the growing mutant backlash affecting those mutants trying to help in Manhattan.

Despite wanting to flay Scott alive at the beginning of the day for possibly cheating on Jean, Rachel couldn't help feeling sorry for him. She didn't dare invade his mind, but she thought she knew what he must be thinking since she knew what her and her father went through when her mom died. She remembered her dad sitting in his office, crying, for days as the X-Men tried to regroup after the devastating nuclear attack by the Brotherhood that had killed her mother.

As the meeting broke up and a heated discussion began between Hank and several of the younger X-Men about whether they should call out for pizza or Chinese food, Rachel approached Scott.

"Hey," she said, getting his attention, but then having no idea what to say. She wanted to be there for him. To have that kind of connection she had with her dad. "How are-"

He interrupted, "I've been meaning to ask you about something. There was some concern about Bogan, and we haven't investigated thoroughly whether he's truly gone or what he did to you. We're just worried that there might still be some residual telepathic influence he left behind. With Charles gone, Emma is our only telepath. She has experience with Bogan, and she's been helping me-"

Seeing the expression of apprehension on Rachel's face, and assuming that it was due to some lingering fear or hatred of the Hellfire Club, Scott tried to explain, "You can trust Emma. Just let her make sure Bogan hasn't left any surprises behind in your mind."

"Let Emma have complete access to my head?" Rachel asked, still in disbelief.

Scott nodded. "She'll just examine you for any traces of Bogan's influence. It'll be fine."

"The Professor will be back eventually," she replied, stalling for time. "Then he can-"

Emma interrupted, asking Scott if he wanted to go to dinner somewhere that served actual food.

"Yeah, sure," Scott replied, glad to have any reason to leave the Institute. As he got up to leave, he said to Emma, "I asked Rachel about you checking for any residual mind control from Elias Bogan."

Before Rachel could even answer or voice any sort of protest, Emma said, with a grin, "Wonderful. Tomorrow afternoon. Meet me in Cerebra. Say around 2?"

As Emma started to leave, Scott leaned over to Rachel, "Nate said he might be able to make it next week. Maybe we can have some family time then. The three of us."

"That'd be great," Rachel replied, softly, trying to fake a smile.

Oblivious to how upset Rachel was, Scott faintly smiled back, patted her on the shoulder,and then turned to leave with Emma. Without saying a word to Kitty, Rachel stormed out of the other door. After glaring at Scott and Emma, Kitty raced out after her.

Stopping at the opposite door, Emma looked back in and asked, "Henry, Ororo, care to join us for dinner?"

_______________________________________________________

Kitty found Rachel back in her dorm room, gathering up her few belonging. Seeing Kitty, she said, "Let's get out of here. Go to Manhattan or Chicago. Anywhere."

"But the funeral is the day after tomorrow."

"I guess we have to come back for that, but I don't want to be here right now."

_______________________________________________________

Scott came out of the locker room wearing normal civilian clothing - a polo shirt and khakis he thought must belong to Warren, which looked more acceptable to wear out to dinner than his black leather pants and t-shirt he had been wearing for days. He joined Ororo and Emma near the hatch entrance and exit to the compound.

Scott asked, "What about Kitty and Rachel? Did they want to come?"

Emma dismissed his question. "They'll probably want whatever the other children are ordering. Thai or whatever it is."

But Kitty and Rachel had already left out of the hanger, heading out to Salem Center and then to try to find some way into New York City to help the relief efforts.

Next Chapter: The Funeral of Jean Grey-Summers


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A day and a half later:

Rachel and Kitty returned to the remnants of the X-Mansion in the wee hours of the morning. Rachel protested going back that soon, wanting to arrive right before Jean's funeral in the afternoon, then leave as soon as possible afterward - all to avoid even seeing Scott or Emma. But there wasn't anywhere to stay in the city, nor was the transportation upstate reliable, so they had to go back the night before or risk missing the funeral.

The underground complex was far more crowded then when they had left. Nearly all of the X-Men, along with members of the other X-teams and former members, had returned to honor Jean.

So, Rachel and Kitty stayed in the hanger, finding a place to bunk down for the night, away from everyone else.

While Kitty would have liked nothing better than to had a huge confrontation with Emma and the opportunity to bring up her own suspicions of what Emma was doing and whether she had potentially corrupted Scott or had him under some sort of mind control, Rachel wanted to avoid the argument for the time being - at least until after the funeral - out of respect for Jean. So, they stayed hidden and got some rest.

Or, at least for Rachel, tried to sleep. But Rachel's dreams were haunted by distorted images of Jean being buried alive, while Emma cackled gleefully next to Rachel's former captor, Elias Bogan, who prevented Rachel from reaching her mom.

That morning, Kitty phased out into the rest of the complex to see what was going on. Not seeing Emma anywhere, Kitty returned and told Rachel it was safe to come out.

Nearly everyone was gathered in the kitchen, mainly catching up with friends they hadn't seen in a while, while Bishop was trying to figure out what they had to make breakfast with.

The room was noisy and crowded, and Rachel stayed in the background. There were a number of X-Men who she hadn't seen since her return yet, some she barely knew and others, like Northstar and Juggernaut, whom she previously had had run-ins with, and in her grumpy and sulking state, she wasn't in the mood for any questions or even shocked expressions that she was somehow alive while Jean was dead.

Rachel only wanted to stay long enough to find out what was going on in regards to Jean's funeral. But Kurt came in to the kitchen with Ororo, and immediately had to embrace her in a big bear hug. And in the foul mood she was in, she couldn't be rude to one of her oldest and dearest friends.

Scott entered the kitchen once Bishop had started cooking eggs, bacon and pancakes. He looked just as bad as Rachel's felt, with dark shadows under his eyes and looking like he hadn't shaved in days. But even worse was his listlessness. It wasn't the type of sullen, mournfulness that someone might expect from a man whose wife had just died. He wasn't moody and brooding like Rachel, but far more apathetic. He truly didn't seem to care about anything, and was totally withdrawn into his own thoughts. The way he was acting, he might as well have been in the kitchen all alone, since he didn't seem to notice anyone else was there as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

Neither Scott or Rachel were interested in the least bit in having a big group breakfast, but everyone else was determined to cheer them up, so they found themselves both guided over to the long dining table. Rachel didn't think it was any coincidence she ended up seated across from Scott, with Kurt and Kitty on either side of her, and with Rogue and Remy next to Scott.

As Rachel picked at her food, Scott said to her, "Emma was looking for you yesterday."

Kitty and Rachel had spent hours coming up with an elaborate story explaining why they left before Rachel could have her special session with Emma to check to see if all of Bogan's telepathic control has been severed from her mind, but Rachel didn't bother with it. "Something came up."

"Maybe today, you two can-"

Interrupting, Rachel snapped back, "I'll ask Professor Xavier, when I see him."

"Okay," Scott replied, not pressing, and returning his attention to his plate.

Following the awkward silence, where the surrounding X-Men exchanged glances, wondering exactly what was going on between Rachel and Scott, Remy tried to change the subject, asking Scott, "You want the syrup?"

"No thanks."

Rogue teased, "Scott's the only person ah know that doesn't like maple syrup."

Scott shrugged it off, but without thinking, Rachel scoffed, "When he was a kid, the other boys at the orphanage used to put syrup in his shoes as a prank."

Quickly jerking his head up, Scott eyed her with a searching look. Rachel was afraid he was going to be angry with her. But he didn't say anything in response, so she quickly looked away again.

Kurt tried to act like Rachel hadn't said anything, and loudly asked Rogue about what she had been up to.

Rachel wished she could shrink underneath the table and disappear. While she wanted to lash out at Scott for everything going on with Emma, embarrassing him with stories of being tormented by bullies during his childhood seemed like a low blow.

Later, as breakfast was beginning to wrap up, and everyone began to make plans for the hours leading up to the memorial service and funeral, Rachel tried to slink out of the dining room without being seen, but ran right into Scott.

Looking down at her feet, Rachel mumbled, "Sorry about that."

"I didn't think anyone knew about that," Scott replied, "Jean, maybe, but I never told her."

Rachel didn't know how to respond or interpret his tone. He didn't sound mad, but he certainly wasn't joking or sounding at all happy. He still seemed very contemplative and withdrawn, and perhaps as confused as she was.

"It's strange," he continued. "You had 14 years with someone just like me, and I had 10 years with you that you don't remember."

She began to argue that she did remember a bit – but that wasn't the point.

She expected for him to say something like how things had changed, or that he wasn't her father. But Scott simply gave her a slight smile, and as he passed her leaving the room, touched her shoulder in a reassuring way.

* * *

A few hours later, everyone began gathering outside for Jean's memorial service and funeral.

A large white canopy had been erected on the lawn, facing away from the remnants of the mansion, with white fold-up chairs lined up in rows, and dozens of flower arrangements lining the perimeter of long rectangular platform.

The night before it had been raining heavily, so the ground was a wet, waterlogged mess, and the sky still overcast with a dreary haze. With a slight wave of her hand, Ororo had cleared the skies of the dark clouds, but there was still a gloom in the chilly air, with near constant gusting winds that pushed against the canopy, making it creek and sway ominously.

The hearse with Jean's body pulled up into the driveway, and the pallbearers- Warren, Hank, Bobby, Kurt and Alex - brought Jean's brilliantly white casket out. It was draped in a carpet of white roses and tulips, with a large X in the center made with red roses. They carried it over to the canopy, trudging through the mud and wet grass, and placed it on the platform.

The casket was opened, so everyone could say their final goodbyes to Jean. And one-by-one, the X-Men filed passed Jean's body, with tears in their eyes.

All except Rachel, who stood in the back with Kitty, unwilling to even approach Jean's casket. Kitty hoped the viewing might help Rachel come to terms with Jean's death and to realize that Jean had died and there was no hope that she would be returning from the dead. But Rachel seemed to know that herself and stood steadfast on the other side of the canopy, barely willing to look up to the front where the casket sat.

As everyone finished paying their respects to Jean, they began taking their seats under the canopy. Scott sat in the front row, and next to him was Jean's father, John, who had come without his wife. Warren, Bobby, Ororo, Alex and his girlfriend, Annie, joined them in the first row, and behind them were Kurt, Lucas, Lorna, Rogue, Remy, Rahne, Sam, and Dani. Kitty and Rachel took seats in the third row, along with Amara and Sage, and several of the students that they didn't know.

As the minister began the service, Rachel looked around, noticing some glaring absences. Charles Xavier was not there, nor was Logan or Nathan. At first she didn't see Emma Frost, but then spotted her standing in the back, wearing a white fur coat and hat, looking completely out of place amongst all the somber black and gray.

The service continued with the minister reading a passage from the bible, as the sky darkened and began to slightly drizzle – something Ororo did nothing to correct.

Rachel remembered her own mother's funeral as being such a momentous event. Hundreds attended the funeral, including members of the Avengers and Fantastic Four, and several politicians who made pro-mutant speeches while thousands of anti-mutant demonstrators protested outside the gates.

It had all been a bit overwhelming for her, as a child still completely devastated at losing her mom, while so many were making speeches placing such importance on the event of her death and what it meant for the future of mutantkind.

In stark contrast, the two dozen or so X-Men sat in the rain near the muddy grave, with the crumbling remnants of the Xavier Institute behind them. Most were still too exhausted both mentally and physically from the past week to say or do much of anything besides silently mourning.

Ororo, Kurt and Hank did speak at the service, elegantly eulogizing Jean, saying how much she meant to them, how wonderful of a person she had been and how much she would be missed.

But Rachel couldn't help but thinking that Jean deserved more than this. It was so mundane and bleak – like any other funeral. The fact that Jean was gone should have been more significant than an ordinary funeral. Perhaps if it had been another X-Man who died, and Jean was there, the funeral would have been completely different.

Maybe because it was that Jean was gone, that her light had been extinguished, which was responsible for the ominous mood that hung over them. It was as if the X-Men's hearts had been violently ripped from their chests, and thus the inspiration and hope that was necessary to celebrate life had been erased from all them, leaving a void that could be filled by nothing but the misery and despair of the last few days.

Following the memorial service, as the pallbearers carried Jean's casket over to the gravesite in an old graveyard on the outer edge of the Xavier grounds away, Rachel noticed Logan watching from a distance underneath a tree near the edge of the wooden area. But he never approached the group gathered around the grave as Jean's casket was lowered into the ground.

Rachel stared at the gravestone – Jean Grey-Summers: She will rise again – trying to avoid watching the casket being interred in the earth.

But as the casket hit the bottom of the grave, the finality of Jean's death finally began to cave in upon Rachel. Jean was now under feet upon feet of dirt, decaying underground – away from everyone she loved and cared about. Rachel couldn't help thinking that if Jean really did love them and truly could rise again, then why would she leave them in this state?

The tears began flowing from Rachel's eyes. She couldn't stop them, and a wave of grieve began to envelop her. She felt someone place their arm around her shoulders, and pull her close to them. Looking up, she saw Scott holding her, his eyes filled with tears as well.

Slowly, the crowd began to dissipate after the minister had said his final words, until it was only Rachel and Scott standing there, watching the workers sent by the funeral home to help with digging the grave began filling in the dirt.

"Go ahead," he told her, motioning to the others gathered in the driveway, besides several large passenger vans waiting to carried the funeral attendees to Harry's Hideaway for the wake.

She walked a few steps, and then looked back. "I'll be there in a little bit," he replied to her unasked question, then turned his attention back to the grave.

In the driveway, Emma told everyone to leave them, since she had a limo there that she and Scott could take to join them later.

As the van pulled out of the gate, Rachel watched as Emma walked over to Scott.

* * *

"All wakes should be held at bars," Rachel told Kitty, picking up her second pint of beer from the bartender at Harry's Hideaway.

Looking around at the small groups of X-Men clustered around the bar, Kitty replied, "If the goal is for everyone to get completely plastered. Otherwise, it's kind of pathetic. Where's Professor Xavier? Where's Logan? Where the hell is Scott?"

"With Emma," Rachel replied, and then drained half of her pint.

"Seriously, you Christians with your wakes need to take some lessons from us Jews with our Shiva," Kitty grumbled, but with a smile.

"Is there alcohol at shivas?" Rachel smirked.

Kitty sighed, got up from her barstool, shouted to get everyone's attention and then asked if anyone would like to share their favorite memory of Jean.

An hour later, Jubilee was in the middle of tearfully recalling what Jean had told her after Illyana had died, when Emma opened the door and entered with Scott following a few feet behind her.

There were a few moments of silence where everyone seemed to look from Emma to Scott. Scott hastily apologized for being late, then took a seat near the center of the room where nearly everyone was gathered, reminiscing about Jean.

As Jubilee started to continue her story, Emma rolled her eyes, and headed to the back of the bar.

The group pressed Warren to speak next, and he started to tell about how he and Jean had met on his first day of school at Xavier's.

A half an hour later, Hank provided a worthy conclusion, telling everyone how they needed to carry on like Jean would have wanted them to, and that she would live on in their hearts.

Rachel went up to the bar for a refill, stumbling past several tables of X-Men, but Rogue stopped her. "Nope, kiddo, that's it for you." And before Rachel could protest, she added, "You'll thank me tomorrow."

She motioned for Rachel to sit down with her, Remy, Bobby, Sam, Paige, Warren and Dani who were all in the middle of a discussion about what was next. Was this it? Was the school going to reopen? Were the X-Men over for good?

Rachel looked back in the corner of the bar and spotted Scott sitting alone at a table, nursing his fifth glass of Scotch. She wondered if she should go over to talk to him, but thought he might want time alone. Despite what all that had happened, she had felt such a strong connection to him when they had stood by the grave together. Maybe it was time to have the talk she knew they needed to have.

But before Rachel could find a way to excuse herself and work up the courage to talk to Scott, out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Emma approached Scott's table. He seemed to look around, and not noticing anyone watching, he stood and wrapped his arm around Emma's waist, and they walked towards the door in the back of Harry's Hideway.

Even in her intoxicated state, Rachel knew what the way they were acting meant - they were headed to Emma's hotel room… together.

But Scott and Emma's exit hadn't gone as unnoticed as they would have hoped. In fact, half of the bar had seen them.

"Could they have been less obvious?" Kitty quipped, taking a seat next to Rachel.

"Maybe Scott was just really drunk and Emma was helping him home," Bobby said, trying to come up with some logical explanation.

"Yeah," Dani sarcastically replied, "Of all the designated driver, drunk-buddies in the world, Emma Frost would be last on my list."

"And Scott was getting all touchy-feely cause he was drunk," Bobby tried to continue.

"'Cause getting touchy-feely with the devil incarnate at your wife's wake is completely appropriate?" Kitty questioned.

As Bobby struggled to come up with another excuse, Rachel interrupted, "Was Scott having an affair with Emma while he was married?"

Everyone at the table just looked uncomfortably back at her, unsure what to say, as Rachel continued, "Was he cheating on Jean?"

"I'll get everybody another round," Remy said, jumping up.

Warren tried to brush off Rachel's questions, "It's late, and it's not the time to-"

But Rogue interrupted, "She has a right to know."

Warren sighed, and went on to relay what was commonly known by everyone else - nothing Scott had told him over a few beers, but at least so Rachel knew the all the gossip and about Jean and Emma's very public fight.

"So," Rachel said, trying to gather her thoughts. "Were they going to get a divorce?"

Warren looked over to Bobby, "I don't know. Maybe. Or maybe they could have worked it out."

"Seems like Scott made his choice," Kitty replied.

* * *

Before dawn the next morning, the bulldozers and construction equipment rolled onto the Xavier campus, and began tearing down the remains of the mansion, with complete disregard for any of the surviving content nor with any reverence for the building itself. The debris was dumped into trucks and hauled off, while the construction crew began hauling in lumber and cement to begin the rebuilding process.


End file.
